Self-locking spike.



Patentedv Feb. 2o, |900.

No. 643,70I.

' c. n. WAHM-zn. SELF LUGKING SPIKE.

(Applicatinn led Sept. 29, 1898. Renewed July 28, 1899.)

(No Model.)

STATES PATENT Fries.

CLARENCE DUANE WARNER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF TWO-THIRDS TO HAVARD LINDLEY, OF SAME PLACE, AND EDWARD E. MACKENZIE, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

SELF-LOCKING SPIKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 643,701, dated February 20, 1900.

Application led September 29,1898. Renewed July 28, 1899. Serial No.725,370. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE DUAN E VAR- NER, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a' new and useful Improvement in Self-Locking Spikes for Railroads and other Purposes, of which the following is a clear, full, and complete specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings andthe ro reference-numerals thereon, such as will enable others skilled in the art to understand same.

It is the object of my invention to provide, iirst, a railroad-spike which will securely lock itself under the base of the rail in the fiber of the wood of the tie; second, to provide a spike which cannot be loosened or pulled or pushed aside by the action of the rail and one which cannot be removed by a vertical 2o pull, such as given to the spike by the upward action of the base of the rail, but which can, nevertheless, be pulled by a special claw or tool, which will draw the spike out in the same path taken by the spike in being driven into the tie. I am aware that so-called self-locking spikes have heretofore been designed and that in some instances these spikes have been provided with burrs or shoulders designed to 3o prevent the spike from working up; but in all such cases the burrs or shoulders simply break or cut the wood, and the said spike has e been found difficult to draw under any and all circumstances. So far as I know none of 3 5 these spikes have been designed on scientific principles, such as are involved in the construction of my spike.

These objects I accomplish by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a cross-section of a rail placed upon a tie, one-half of which latter is shown in section and containing one of my spikes driven home or into place in the tie, the section of the righthand end of the tie being taken on a plane corresponding with one of the sides of the spike, so as to show the spike in position in the Wood. Upon the left side of said Fig. l is shown in dotted lines one of my spikes in the act of being driven into said 5o tie, showing the path assumed by the spike as it enters the tie, the successive positions of the spike being represented by the outlines of the same shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a full-size spike made in' accordance with my improvement. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the spike shown in Fig. 2.

Similar reference-numerals throughout the various figures refer to corresponding parts.

In the construction of this spike I form a primary wedge, which has its point at the end 4 of the spike and its base at the head 5. This primary Wedge I then divideI into three Secondary wedges, numbered, respectively, l, 2, and V3, thus forming a compound Wedge with a number of smaller right-angle wedges arranged in succession vertically about the longitudinal axis of the spike, the axis being indicated by the dotted line 6 6 of Fig. 2. The i base of the wedge 1- is located at la, the base 7o of the wedge 2 is located at 2a, and the base of the wedge 3 is located at 3a, the base of the wedge 2 projects at the point 2b to form a shoulder on the front edge of the spike, which locks in the wood of the tie 14 under the base of the rail, and the base of the wedge l similarly projects at 1b to form a corresponding shoulder upon the rear edge of the spike, which locks in the wood upon the back side of the spike.

7 is the head of the spike, and S a horizontal shoulder which rests upon the upper surface of the tie after the spike is driven home.

9 is a straight vertical surface upon the rear edge of the spike above the base of the Wedge 3, which is intended to more securely keep the spike against the base of the rail.

10 is the base of the rail.

In the formation of the several secondary wedges which go to form the compound Wedge heretofore referred to I so shape and place the same with respect to each other and as regards their relative sizes that the spike in being driven into the tie will take a curvilinear direction, or, in other words, enter the tie in a path corresponding to an arc of a circle. In Fig. l the cord of this arc is shown by the dotted line 1l ll. In driving the spike into the tie it is first placed with its point against the edge of the base of the rail with the longitudinal axis of the spike vertical to the upper surface otl the tie. Then as it enters the tie wedge number 1, which is the principal directional Wedge, carries the point of the spike inwardly and under the base of the rail, while the head of the spike is correspondin gly carried baekwardly and away from the rail, as shown in lthe dotted lines to the left of Fig. 1. After the shoulder 2b passes below the base of the rail wedge number 3 begins to act and changes the direction of the spike, so as to give it a curvilinear path. (Indicated upon the left side of the said Fig. 1.) After the spike enters the tie to a distance which brings the said shoulder 2u below the base of the rail `the latter point of the spike acts as a fulcrum, about which both extremities of the spike move, the head moving inwardly toward the rail and the point of the spike moving outwardlyaway from the base ofthe rail. This curvilinear direction, which is thus given to the spike, forces the shoulder 2l into the wood of the tie underneath the base of the rail and at the same time forces the shoulder 1b backwardly into the wood, making a lock upon the front and rear edges of the spike. While the spike is being thus driven into the tie, the iibers of the wood are pushed aside, and when the spike nally reaches its position, as shown upon the right-hand side of Fig. 1, these fibers return to their original position, and thus lock the spike into place without the spike having broken the fibers of the wood. It is then impossible to lift the spike out of the wood by any vertical force such as would be exerted by the base of the rail, but if the spike be withdrawn in the same curvilinear path it took in being driven into the rail it may be withdrawn without unduly destroying the tie.

In the construction of my spike the wedge 3 may be curved upon its inclined face in the manner shown by the dotted line 12, Fig. 2, without departing from the spirit of my invention, and similarly the corners of the shoulder 1l and 2b may be curved or rounded in the manner shown by the dotted lines at 13, Fig. 2, without departing from the spirit of myinvention. Thislatterconstruction would perhaps render it easier to withdraw the spike without materially decreasing its locking qualities.

Having thus described my invention and its mode of operation, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A self-locking spike, for railroads and other purposes, formed in wedges, the two wedges forming the point and lower portion of the shank being so arranged and placed with reference to each other as to form a cutting edge, and at their respective bases a shoulder in the front of the spike approximately midway thereof, and also a shoulder in the rear of the spike, the wcdging-plane on the front being longer than that on the rear and disposed at a greater angle to the axis of the spike, substantially as and for thc purposes described.

2. A self-locking spike, for railroads and other purposes, formed in wedges, the two wedges forming the point and lower portion of the shank being so arranged and placed with reference to each other as to form a cutting edge, and at their respective bases a shoulder in the front of the spike approximately midway thereof, and also a shoulder in the rear of the spike, the wedging-plane on the front being longer than that on the rear and disposed at a greater angle to the axis of the spike, the rear of said spike being also formed above said shorter wedge in a second long wedging-plane, tending to produce rotation in the same direction as that on the front ot said spike, substantially as described.

CLARENCE DUANE VARNER. 

